The EU’s Passivity on Iran’s Human Rights Abuses

A European Union spokesman said last week that the EU “attaches high importance to the human rights situation in Iran.” But the EU’s inaction speaks louder than its words. Whereas the Trump administration has issued fresh sanctions against 17 human rights abusers to date, the EU has imposed no new human rights sanctions since the 2015 nuclear deal. While Washington has repeatedly voiced robust support for Iran’s ongoing protests, the EU has offered only mild, and intermittent, expressions of solidarity. 

The EU’s passivity reflects its failure to recognize that a key premise of its diplomacy with Iran has proven false. In June, Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, argued that the nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has “opened up a window to address” other areas of disagreement with Iran, including human rights. In practice, the EU’s conduct has shown that its determination to protect the JCPOA has prevented it from speaking forcefully about repression in Iran.

After nationwide protests began in late 2017, the EU waited days before releasing a curt statement of sympathy that appeared to conflate victim and oppressor, calling on “all concerned to refrain from violence.” In January, during a press conference after a meeting between EU leaders and the Iranian foreign minister to discuss the implementation of the JCPOA, Mogherini dedicated a single oblique comment to the protests. Following detailed remarks about the JCPOA, she said, “We also briefly obviously discussed internal recent events in Iran.” 

The EU’s inaction also stems from its misdiagnosis of Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, as a moderate who shares Europe’s aspirations for reform. In its most recent report, the office of the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran found that Tehran’s actions “contrast starkly” with Rouhani’s frequent pledges to respect human rights. The people of Iran, for their part, have come to recognize that Rouhani offers only false promises of reform. At protests, chants of “Death to Rouhani!” ring out in addition to condemnation of the regime and its supreme leader.

At the same time, since the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, the EU has been trying to preserve the agreement by encouraging companies – mostly without success – to defy Washington by continuing to invest in Iran. This effort has likely reinforced the message that Tehran will suffer no meaningful punishment from the EU as a consequence of its domestic repression.

By contrast, the Trump administration has begun to wage a maximum pressure campaign drawing upon all instruments of national power to compel the Islamist regime to change its behavior. If the EU wishes to demonstrate its commitment to human rights in Iran, it should join America in strengthening sanctions on Iran, particularly the numerous Iranian officials responsible for grave human rights violations. In the absence of such a campaign, Tehran will remain confident that European concern for the future of the JCPOA will ensure its passivity on human rights. 

Tzvi Kahn is a senior Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @TzviKahn.

Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD. FDD is a Washington-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.